PATERSON — City teachers this week finally learned details of their proposed new union contract and labor leaders acknowledge that widespread opposition may result in the deal getting rejected by rank-and-file workers next week.

Union president Peter Tirri said the new contract would not increase the base salaries stipulated in the union’s step guide. The only pay increases that individual teachers would get would result from their advancement to higher steps on the salary guide, he said.

“It’s clear people are not happy,” said Tirri, head of the Paterson Education Association (PEA). He asserted that the New Jersey Department of Education has imposed strident restrictions in the contract in an effort to dissolve the union’s strength. Paterson schools are under state control and school board members and union officials said officials in Trenton have steered the negotiations for the district.

“Everything they’ve done has been geared to break the PEA and this settlement may do that,” said Tirri. “People are screaming at each other. They’re screaming at me.”

The union and education officials had reached a tentative agreement in late May, but details of the deal were not revealed to the teachers at that time. On Tuesday, the union sent packets with copies of new contract provisions to all members and on Wednesday, the union sent out copies of the salary guide.

The PEA’s last contract expired on July 1, 2010 and the 3,400 teachers and support staff have been working without new terms since then. During that time, union members were frozen at the same step on the salary scale and received no raises, according to Tirri.

Several teachers said they were stunned when they saw the salary guide for the new contract. “I waited for four years and this is what they want to give me? Nothing?” said one

Paterson teacher who asked that her name not be used.

“This contract is insulting,” said another teacher. “How can they expect us to approve this?”

About 200 union delegates held a volatile meeting about the contract proposal on Wednesday at The Brownstone and the PEA has scheduled a meeting with its full membership for 4 p.m. on Thursday at Kennedy High School, Tirri said.

The union has scheduled a ratification vote for Monday. Members will be asked to make two separate votes on the contract – one for the years 2010-2014 and another for 2014-2017.

“I don’t know,” Tirri said when asked about the expected outcome of the vote. “I think that for every person who’s screaming we ought to reject the contract there’s another person paying that any contract is better than no contract at all.”

A joint statement issued by the union and school district last month said the contract would produce about $19 million worth of retroactive pay for employees. In an interview on Thursday, Tirri said the $19 million would be just for the teachers covered by the contract. Other staff members in the union would be getting about $5 million in retroactive checks.

Tirri said the retroactive money would cover step increases that teachers and other workers would have gotten during the past four years.

The first step on the guide put city teachers’ base salaries at $48,062 and the 16th and final step puts them at $91,122.

State and city education officials have not yet provided their comments on the contract situation.